FRICK IT'S BEEN 2 MONTHS IM SO SORRY IM THE WORST
I lost my writer's spirit. I wasn't motivated. I haven't been motivated to do much for awhile, there was background stress in my body that built up for at least 3 months that I only cried out a couple of days ago. I waited too long for that. It was really bad.
But I'm back, and I'm going to try to keep updating this constantly...
There was a sinister air around the mansion. Things were afoot that she didn't find comfort in. She was not an idiot, nor was she a coward. But there was a line that was crossed with this malice hanging thick around her like smoke. It made her uncomfortable, but she didn't have much of a choice about it.
There was a slight mental nudge, a pull, a call. Something beckoned her from a darkened part of the house. Dare she follow? Does she risk the aftermath of ignoring such a tone? She risks not. Her breath puffed out in hot bursts, panting with the slight fear gripping her mind as she crept across the house and to a secret door. Strange, she had never seen the door before. She'd worked at this house for awhile and passed by this hallway many times, and the door had simply not been there. Yet there it stood, the shiny, polished wood glinting in the faint moonlight cascading through the large window. She gripped the doorknob with more power than she'd admin, and turned the knob. It turned heavily, like there was something stopping it from shifting from its resting position. The door opened without any creaking, the faint light from the room behind her flooding into a new, pitch-black room. She could make out a faint outline of a man, and a small object floating beside him. Floating object?
"You always come on my call. I admire that of you, Nathalie." The man spoke, his voice dripping with venom that she'd never heard before.
"Mr. Agreste?" Nathalie questioned, confused.
There was silence, and then a robotic sound filled the room as a giant, butterfly patterned window was revealed behind the moving metal panels. Butterflies had been resting on the ground and they now fluttered aimlessly in the giant room. The door shut behind Nathalie as she stared.
"I have a job opening for you." He said levelly, an unnatural smirk displayed across his face.
Nathalie began to feel a growing panic in her gut. Something was not right about this, about him. She knew Mr. Agreste, and this was not him. This was someone else she was speaking to. Perhaps it was the true Gabriel. There was a small, quivering creature floating next to him. It was colored lavender, with a darker purple swirled atop its head. It had small, bug-like wings and large eyes that displayed sorrow and terror. It squeaked, cowering under Nathalie's piercing stare.
"Sir?" She questioned again.
"I am in need of an assistant. You see, there are five of them against me now. Five greedy brats with their own Miraculous, Kwami and powers. All of them are now fighting me, stopping me from getting what I want. That hardly seems fair, does it not?" He asked her.
Nathalie's eyes narrowed. "You... you're HawkMoth, you're the Papillon! You're the one ailing Paris with your Akumas!"
"Yes, I am the one and only. And I have a gift for you, my dear Nathalie. Think of it even as a promotion." He said with a sickening smile. "Nooroo, dark wings, rise!"
Nathalie watched the man she thought she knew transform into Paris' number one enemy. He stared at her for a moment, then held out his hand, In his hand rested a teal blue, Peacock based piece of jewelry.
"This is the last Miraculous not in the hands of a holder. I want you to take it, and help me with my mission. I need Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous, but with my Miraculous I can't go out and fight them myself. That's why I find other people to fight for me. But they're all idiots! They're always outsmarted by those annoying superheroes!" HawkMoth raged. "They've given the Bee, Turtle and Fox Miraculous to their allies, and now they're a superhero team of five. I need help of my own. Join me, Nathalie."
Nathalie said nothing. She slowly walked over to where HawkMoth stood, hand still outstretched to her. She touched the Peacock Miraculous, then stopped. What was she doing? She was doing what she thought was right.
"NO!" She shouted, snatching the Miraculous out of his hand and backing up to the door.
HawkMoth roared with anger. "You dare deny my invitation? Do you not understand what enemy you've just made?!"
Nathalie had a fighting spirit of her own. "Oh yeah? Give me one reason why I shouldn't turn you into the authorities right now! Or Ladybug! I have seen everything, I even have a piece of evidence in my hand. This Miraculous is a pretty damming piece of evidence to show I know what I'm talking about! Dare to risk it, Mr. Agreste?" She snapped.
His expression changed then, to something more fragile. "Nathalie... I'm doing this for her, and for Adrien. If I can just get those Miraculous, I can bring her back. I can make everything go back to normal. I don't really want anyone to get hurt, truly. But I need those Miraculous." He spoke softly.
Something changed in Nathalie right then. Her eyes hardened, and she shook her head. She turned tail and ran out of the room, out of the Agreste Mansion. She ran until she couldn't run anymore. She didn't dare go anywhere he'd know she'd go. Gasping for breath, Nathalie slumped against the wall of an empty alley way. She stared at the Miraculous in her hand. She couldn't just let this happen, let him wreck havoc in Paris. But she couldn't bring herself to be the one to stop him in what he was working so hard for. To bring his wife back.
She took a deep breath. She'd decided. Flipping over the Miraculous, she noticed it had a pin on the back. She clipped it to her shirt, just above her breasts, and the Miraculous exploded into deep blue light. Another creature appeared, similar to the one HawkMoth had- Nooroo, he'd called it. This one was a dark blue, with a brilliant tail of feathers. The feathers all had black and reddish rings on them. There were three antennae-like parts arching from its head, a red dot on its forehead, and big red eyes. It stared at her questioningly.
"You don't look like you were chosen for this." The Kwami spoke, tone unreadable.
Nathalie stared. "You creatures can talk?"
The Kwami huffed. "Yes! I can talk! And I'm not some creature, I'm a Kwami!" He paused. "Though your choice of words means you've seen another? Who was it? Who gave you my Miraculous?"
She gulped. "HawkMoth. He's been using his Miraculous for evil. He had a Kwami too, he called it Nooroo."
His eyes widened in horror. "He's abusing Nooroo and the Moth Miraculous! This isn't good. Is there anyone else?!"
Nathalie nodded. "He said that your Miraculous was the last not given to a holder. We have Ladybug and Chat Noir, they fight off the Akumas he makes. But he also spoke of people having a Bee, Fox and Turtle Miraculous."
The Kwami almost choked. "We're all active?! All seven?! This must be some danger... I haven't introduced myself, have I? I am Duusu, the Peacock Kwami. This may not be what you want to hear, but I think you should keep my Miraculous. You said HawkMoth had it before you stole it away?"
She nodded. "He wanted me to join him. Be his assistant. I worked for him for the longest time, I had no idea... He's going to look for me, isn't he?"
Duusu nodded grimly. "He probably will. You stole his only way to get help. There's no more Miraculous from my circle to find or give. Anyways, I need you to keep me. I don't normally get holders this way, but for now I think I can trust you. Listen, you can't tell anyone I exist, alright? I'm to be kept hidden from the world except maybe for other Miraculous holders. Can you do this, Miss... er... what is your name?"
"Nathalie. My name is Nathalie." She replied curtly.
"Nathalie. You should go to Ladybug immediately and tell her what you've seen. This can be over very quickly with you." Duusu instructed. "You can transform into Bleu Paon with me. All you have to say is Duusu, show off our feathers! It's not the best line, I know, but it activates the Miraculous. You'll have the power to glide, and you have a fan as a weapon. When out of transformation, you'll have to feed me so I can recharge. Transformations take a lot of energy. I can't tell you your special power yet, I'm not sure how long you'll be having me. Until I know that I can't explain any further. Now, we have to go tell Ladybug!" Duusu squawked.
Nathalie shook her head. "Duusu, I'm sorry, but I can't just go and tell Ladybug. Not when I know why HawkMoth is doing what he's doing. He wants Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous so he can bring his wife back. I can't stop him from trying if that's true. His son needs his mother back, I've seen how he is. I've tried to be a mother figure as best as I can while still following what Mr. Agreste wanted. Even though he's the bad guy, I can't trust the superheroes either. I'm going to do things my way, as Bleu Paon."
Duusu frowned at her. "I see. I suppose I see your reasoning. He might, in theory, may be able to bring a person back with the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous in his possession. But at the same time, holding both gives one god powers. Do you really want to risk that?"
Nathalie sighed. "I don't know. I don't trust any of the other holders after what I've seen tonight. I know this must not be what you wanted in a partner."
Duusu shrugged. "It could've been worse. I still trust you. Besides, you're my master- er, mistress- now. I have to do as you say, even if I don't want to. That's the only reason Nooroo hasn't defied his master yet."
Nathalie breathed in deeply. "Alright. This is a lot to take in, but I can handle it. Duusu, show off our feathers!"
Duusu gave a small smile before he was sucked into the Miraculous. Nathalie transformed into Bleu Paon, and she rushed off into the night.
There was something off about the atmosphere, Ladybug noted, as she zipped across rooftops on her way back from Chloe's. She'd been so relived when Chloe had shown she could handle a Miraculous. Things were looking up for her and her team, her friends.
There was a whisper, a faint whisper blowing on a slight breeze. Ladybug froze. She'd heard it, but hadn't heard what it said. Who could be out here, on top of a roof?
"Ladybug." A voice called. The voice was smooth, yet sturdy and slightly angry.
"Who's there?" She called back.
A figure landed on the roof in front of her. A... Peacock? he looked like a fully grown woman to Ladybug, but the thing she really noticed was the Peacock jewelry that was pinned on her chest. A piece of jewelry that looked very much like...
"A Miraculous?" Ladybug asked aloud.
The Peacock narrowed her eyes, nodding. "You are observant. I am Bleu Paon, the Peacock Miraculous holder. I have seen things you'd very much like to know, yet I will not tell you. I was given, rather I stole, my Miraculous by your greatest enemy."
Ladybug gasped. "HawkMoth?! HawkMoth had two Miraculous?!"
Paon nodded. "Yes, he did. He wanted me to join him, to fight with him. I declined and ran off with it. But I'm not here to fight along you and your team either. Both sides are doing wrong. You and your team are doing wrong that you don't even know of."
Ladybug narrowed her eyes. "What are we doing wrong then, miss Paon?" She challenged. How dare this feathered figure pop out of nowhere and try ruin her mood? Was she lying and really just working with HawkMoth, trying to make her upset so she'd be Akumatized?
Did HawkMoth know who she was?
Paon met her challenge. "Do you even know why HawkMoth is doing what he's doing? All villains have a motive. I've worked for HawkMoth as normal people, I know his life more than you do. He's hurting, and his son is hurting. He's not doing it to be evil, he's doing it so he can fix his family. And for that, I can't help you or him on one side. I'm doing things my way. He's hurting Paris because he's blinded by his loss. You're hurting him by stopping him from fixing his family, which is causing him to continue. It'll never end, this cycle. And part of it is your fault. So just remember every time you suit up to fight off his Akumas: You're hurting him and his son. You're failing to save a family."
Paon then jumped away, gliding occasionally as she tested her powers further. Ladybug stood there motionless, eyes glazing over as she processed what Bleu Paon had said.
She didn't even notice herself continuing back to her house. She didn't really remember moving, but she was back in her room. She mumbled a de-transformation command and moved to sit on her bed, still vaguely stunned by her encounter. Tikki zipped to her side, noticing her charge's strange behavior.
"Marinette? Are you okay?" Tikki asked worriedly.
"I.. I met Bleu Paon. She had a Peacock Miraculous." Marinette explained softly.
Tikki gasped. "Duusu is back?! Master Fu had lost him! This is great news! The other Miraculous are all safe from HawkMoth!"
"Tikki, she said she'd stolen the Miraculous from HawkMoth. She knows who he is, and she wouldn't tell me. She said she couldn't help me or him based on what she knew. Apparently HawkMoth isn't truly evil... He just wants Chat- Adrien- and I's Miraculous to bring back his wife for him and his son. I'm letting a family suffer." Marinette despaired.
Tikki was silent. She had not expected this to be the case. What could she say to this? HawkMoth had a son, a family? He'd had Duusu? All of this was overwhelming.
"Marinette, get some sleep. It's late. Maybe tomorrow we should go back to Master Fu afterschool and tell him what's happened." Tikki advised.
Marinette nodded, and then started preparing for bed. She hoped in her dreams she could escape from the stress of everything done today. It was too much to deal with for now.
LEAVE ME ALONE I WANT NATHALIE TO GET DUUSU AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY
I also changed the title and some of the tags because I feel like "Walls" doesn't fit much anymore. The whole Marinette being depressed is kinda fading. DON'T WORRY IT'LL STILL BE THERE but not as... apparent? I dunno. I also changed the summary. Don't stop reading because of this!
Until next time!